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28 July 2014

Air Liquide invests €25 million in new research facility in Shanghai, China

28 July 2014 - Air Liquide today broke ground on its new Research and Technology Center located in the industrial park of Xinzhuang, in Shanghai, China. The center will be operational at the end of 2015 and will ultimately house 200 highly skilled employees. The scientific experts of Air Liquide will be working in several different areas of research, such as energy efficiency, technologies designed to reduce industrial emissions of CO2, water treatment, and processes for preserving and freezing food.

Covering 12,000 square meters, the center represents an investment of nearly €25 million. It will house laboratories as well as large pilot platforms with equipment for designing and testing technologies in industrial-scale conditions for the Group’s customers. The building is designed in compliance with LEED certification.

François Darchis, member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee supervising Innovation, commented: “This new center illustrates the Group’s commitment to pursuing its growth in China and to developing partnerships with its customers, as well as with the research laboratories and universities in Asia. The Shanghai hub thus reinforces its capacity to attract talent in Asia and to seize new growth opportunities through innovation.”

In 2013, the Group has EUR265 million innovation expenses and filed 321 new patents. Its global R&D network is based on 10 main sites in Europe, Asia, and the United States including the Paris-Saclay Research Center (France), the Frankfurt Research and Technology Center (Germany), the Delaware Research and Technology Center (United States), Air Liquide Laboratories (Japan), Air Liquide Laboratories Korea (South Korea), and the Shanghai Research and Technology Center (China).

In China, Air Liquide operates more than 70 plants and employs 4,000 employees today, with a strong presence in the key coastal industrial areas, and is expanding into the center, south and west. Air Liquide also has strong Engineering and Construction capabilities via its Global E&C Solutions division.

World leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with more than 50,000 employees and serves more than 2 million customers and patients. Air Liquide's revenues amounted to EUR 15.2 billion in 2013.